17 miles along Wollaston Beach as the sun rises. Photo cred: Greg who writes Soutiearuns.com

Let’s let the healing begin, shall we? Do you think I can follow the same post-marathon recovery plan to recover from a heart break? Why not give it a try. I’ve spent the past few weeks running endless miles alone under the bright blue sky, breathing the crisp air and hearing the fallen leaves crunch under my feet. Countless times my mind has fluttered to memories I made over the past few years. I’ll be honest- I’ve had to stop once or twice and cry for a few minutes but the sadness passes. It always passes. My mind, which a few weeks ago was churning over with a waterfall of endless worries, is finally starting to slow down so I can actually process the past 2 years and accept where I am and who I am today.

Right now running is to me like a a lovie is to a toddler who needs his/her snuggle toy to stay safe from the nighttime monsters. My runs are my therapy session, my safe place and my security blanket all in one. I’m also trying to use running to help me look forward to the future to create new goals for myself. Signing up for winter and spring races, creating my own training plan and even plotting out my runs remind me to look forward, not back. Looking back on the roads I’ve ran won’t get me anywhere new. As hard as it is right now I need to look forward. I need to find new roads out there for me to explore. I can do this. One day at a time, one mile at a time. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

Yes, I’m healing. Slowly, but surely I’m healing.

***

Post Chicago goal: Enjoy the sun and see the sky every day 🙂

Post-Chicago Recovery Running.

After I run a marathon my body typically feels like it has been hit by a mac truck. I usually have a hard time walking down the stairs or even sitting down on the toilet. But not this time. (whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!) I’m not entirely sure why, but my body feels REALLY GOOD since Chicago. After running 6 marathons maybe my body is starting to adapt to the stress of training and/or covering the distance of the marathon. Maybe I hydrated like a boss at Chicago and was able to run within my physical capabilities without doing too much wear and tear. Maybe it’s sheer luck. Either way I am absolutely LOVING RUNNING lately.

Here have been my mileages week by week:Week 1 post Chicago: 16 miles

*Took 3 days off from running and then did an EASY 4. Felt surprisingly good and rolled with it.

Week 2: 45 miles

Week 3: 40 miles

Week 4: 60

*I had off from work this week so I was able to rest and recover more than usual, which allowed for a higher mileage

Week 5: 53 miles

Week 6: 53 miles

Week 7: 60 miles

I’m well aware that my mileages have been all over the place!! Typically after a marathon I take a week off and follow it with a week of 20-30 miles, then 30-40 miles. Finally, I will aim to hit at 40 miles a week for about a month to safely build my base mileage back up. Not this time! Running has felt absolutely awesome so I’m just rolling with it until December 4th when I’ll start a more structured training plan and begin integrating speed workouts. The vast majority of my running over the past 7 weeks has been completed at a conversational pace. I must say that since emotional distress is fantastic for weight loss and weight loss is fantastic for faster running my runs have been much speedier than before. In the past month I’d dropped a little weight and wow what a difference it has made in my running times. Silver lining?? While 8:20s typically were my go-to easy run pace, I’ve recently dropped down to running 7:55-8’s with little extra effort. Last week I did my first post marathon workout; I ran 9 miles with 2 sets of 10 minute intervals at a 6:35 pace! Well helloooooooo there! I don’t know where this speed is coming from but heck yes I’ll take it!

I’m incredibly curious about where my racing fitness is at soooo I signed up for a half marathon on a whim! Next Sunday December 3rd I’ll be racing the Frosty Half Marathon in Raynham, MA. Here goes nothing! After the Frosty half I have my eyes set on the following winter/spring races: